Over the last few months, we’ve seen an increasing number of customer calls and problems stemming from trying to save ACT! templates on the network. The error message indicates that the template is in use.  This error occurs whether you are trying to create a new template, save changes to an existing template or saving an existing template with a new name. Unfortunately, the error message is misleading in the fact that rarely, if ever, is the document in use by someone else.

In doing research, we found this issue is actually a common problem with saving Microsoft Word documents to a network.  The error occurs when trying to save a file to a server using uniform naming convention (UNC) as opposed to using a mapped network drive. In layman’s terms, when saving the file with a format similar to \\actserver\act -database files\templates\template.doc, the UNC format is being used. When saving a file using a mapped network drive, the location may look something like this M:\act-database files\templates\template.doc where the M drive replaces the \\actserver.  The frustrating part of the error is that it does not occur all the time and can result in the document throwing the error not to be saved. 

The best way to prevent the error from is to launch the ACT! template folder through a mapped drive as opposed to using ACT!’s default opening method which is UNC. One simply way to do this is to create a shortcut on the computer desktop to where the ACT! templates folder exists out on the network. The key is to make sure that the shortcut is using a mapped network drive as opposed to using the UNC location. Whenever opening or savings these templates, always browse out to the desktop shortcut as opposed to using the default location ACT! provides. This will ensure that the mapped drive is used and avoid the untimely “template is in use” error message. 

Want some help doing this?   If so, please email me at tmm@stewarttechnologies.com and I’d be happy to provide you with screen shots to follow the steps listed above.  

Problem: More often than not, business owners, sales managers and marketing directors do not want their ACT! database users to have the ability to remove contacts from the database.

Solution: For a locked down database approach, here are three simple steps that can help prevent users from removing contacts from a database without management approval.

1. Decide which users should not have the capability to delete to contacts. Make those users either be a standard or restricted level user in the database. In the case of the standard level user, be sure to remove the delete records permissions otherwise users can delete records they entered into the ACT! database.
2. Designate users who need the ability to delete contacts from the database. Those users should be granted either managerial or administrator access to the database.
3. Since the standard and restricted level users do not have the ability to delete contacts, there needs to be a way for them to notify management when a contact needs to be removed. One approach is to create a group in ACT! called Delete Me. As users come across contacts that need to be removed from the system, they can make the contact a member of the Delete Me group. This allows management to review the contacts  designated for deletion prior to removing them from the system. A second approach is to create a yes/no field called To Be Deleted. A user can then check the field to designate that the contact needs to be removed from the system. Management can then perform a lookup on this field to determine if the contacts should deleted.

Benefits of this solution:  Management can now review the contacts to be deleted in the database to determine whether or not those contacts should be deleted. This ensures that valuable information for a contact, like their notes and history, is not lost.

Draw backs to this solution: Depending on a user’s job description, they may require a security level of manager or administrator in ACT!. As a member of this security role, they will automatically have the rights to delete contacts and those rights cannot be rescinded. Careful consideration needs to be made when modifying user’s security access to ensure that they are given enough access to perform their job. Also, there is now additional time required by management to review the contacts marked for deletion.  Although this can create additional work for management, there is nothing more damaging to a business than having a vital contact deleted from the database. Especially if the deletion is not discovered until months after the fact.

Challenge: As a software consulting  and IT firm, we are required to manage a myriad of information on our clients. Information that we need to manage at an application level includes:

1. Version of application(s) they currently have installed as well as what service packs or hot fixes they have loaded for that application.
2. Account number with the software manufacturer, in this case either Sage or Intuit.
3. Add-ons or custom programming the client currently has installed for that application.
4. Whether or not the client has corporate support or software renewals through the software vendor and when their expiration dates are.
5. For accounting software clients, tracking whether or not they do their payroll in house.
6. In addition to maintaining this information on behalf of the client, we also use this information to determine client elgibility for upgrades, service updates, hot fixes and also to notify clients when their support or software upgrade plans are coming up for renewal.

Options Explored:  Track information in spreadsheets either on a product line level or at a client level, build a custom access database to manage all the pieces of information that we needed to know or customize ACT! to track all of the information.

Solution: When ACT! introduced the company feature with ACT! 2005, we customized the company layout to track all of the client information that we needed. Our process was simple: we created one tab for each product line that we support. For each product line, we created custom fields that were specific to that client application. For example, our accounting software tabs includes checkboxes for Payroll and Credit Card Processing – items that are unique to the accounting software lines. For the CRM tabs, we created a large memo box to track all of our client serial numbers and added fields for clients whose database maintenance we perform.

In addition to adding customized tabs to the Company layout, we also created checkboxes that stretch along the top half of the screen: one box was created for each product line supported. The idea was that anyone in our office can see the company record and know what product we support  for that cleint based on the boxes that were checked.

To ensure this data was managed properly, we did develop a few rules as to when the company record was to be created and who was responsible for maintaining the information at the company level. Our workflow is as follows:

1. When a prospect becomes a customer, their information is entered into our accounting system and at the same time a company record is created.
2. At that point, the company record is filled out with all of the information we’ve accumulated on the client as part of our sales process.
3. Anytime a technician does work for the client, either the technician or managing partner goes in to update the company record with any changes (like service packs installed or upgrades done).
4. We also customized the company record to track how the client found out about us. At the end of each year, we run a source of referrals report in ACT! by company that tells us exactly where our business is coming from.  This allows us to determine where our marketing dollars should be spent in the upcoming year.

Over the years, the company record in ACT! has been a constant work in progress for us. We’re always making changes to the information we are collecting to ensure we are managing our clients more efficiently. It is a tool that I have come to rely upon heavily in regards to the day in and day out management of our clients.

I often have  clients ask me when they should be deleting contacts from the database.  Below are some of the common reasons I hear why people delete contacts from databases and my thoughts for why that contact should not be deleted:

• The contact was a bad customer. They never paid their bills on time or constantly argued any charges on their account.

Reason to keep the contact: No one likes a deadbeat customer. However, deleting the contact from the database means that future employees will have no knowledge of what type of customer this is. If the client calls back in the future, as all deadbeat customers tend to do, the person answering the phone will have no way of knowing that this is a bad customer and a waste of time to your organization. Keep the contact  in the database but be sure to document  this customer’s history. One easy way to notate this customer’s status is to modify the ID/Status dropdown to include a Former Client value. Employees should be trained that any contact with Former Client in the ID/Status drop down should be discussed with management prior to pursuing further.

• Contact no longer works at the organization.

Reason to keep the contact – Review your notes, history and opportunities for that customer. Determine if the information is tied to the contact or if it’s tied to the company that the contact worked for. If the information is tied to the contact, then simply update the contact’s record to reflect where they work now.  If all of the information under the record is related to the company, then update the record to reflect who the new point person is. If you aren’t sure who the replacement person is going to be,  update the database to reflect that fact and then schedule a reminder to follow-up regularly with the company until they have hired the replacement person.

• We have a lot of contacts in our database. We’re worried that the database can’t handle more than a few thousand contacts.

Reason to keep the contact: Depending on the version of ACT! that you are currently running, the newer versions of ACT! are robust enough to handle over 100,000 contacts. The limit of how much data the database can hold is not just limited to the contacts but also what type of data you are storing for those contacts i.e. notes, history and opportunities. By deleting contacts in the database, you could be limiting your marketing capabilities. Contacts can often lay dormant for years before deciding to make a purchase. Often one marketing piece appearing at just the right time is enough to rekindle that relationship. Deleting contacts from the database can limit your marketing outreach.

I hoped I’ve helped debunk a few common myths in regards to reasons why contacts should not be removed from the database.